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361-Emerald Poveda APPENDIX B: TIMELINE OF THE ENERGY INDUSTRY IN ALBERTA$ Initial Note The presence of hydrocarbons in Alberta dates back millions of years; however, the earliest recorded use of bitumen occurred about 300 years ago, and hydrocarbons were first used to generate energy in Alberta over a century ago. Pre-1715 560 million years B.C. À Plants absorbed solar energy and used it to convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and carbohydrates such as sugar, starch and cellulose; these carbohydrates and other organic materials eventually settled on the ground and in streams, lakes, and sea beds and, as they became more deeply buried, were transformed by heat and pressure into solid, liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons known as fossil fuels. From 1715 to 1899 Year Event 1715 The first known reference to the Athabasca oil sands was made by Captain Swan, a Cree chief acting as a middleman between the native hunters of the West and the fur factories of Hudson Bay. Swan told Governor James Knight in council at York Fort in 1715 about a river feeding the Churchill River where he found ‘Gum or pitch’. In 1719 Swan returned to York Fort, where Henry Kelsey had replaced Knight as governor. He gave Kelsey a sample of ‘that Gum or pitch that flows out of the Banks of that River’. 1788 Alexander Mackenzie wrote of bituminous seeps among Alberta’s Athabasca tar sands, into which a six-metre pole could be inserted ‘without the least resistance’. $Quoted from www.energy.alberta.ca. The list of events may not include all major actions as it was developed based on announcements. Alberta Energy History http:// www.energy.alberta.ca/About_Us/3997.asp, provided as a summary by the Government of Alberta, the site does not endorse, authorise, approve, certify, maintain or control these external Internet addresses and does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, effi- cacy or timeliness of the information located at such addresses. 403 404 APPENDIX B: TIMELINE OF THE ENERGY INDUSTRY IN ALBERTA 1792 Coal was discovered in Alberta by fur trader, explorer, surveyor and mapmaker Peter Fidler with the Hudson’s Bay Company. He made the discovery near Drumheller. 1807 Coal gas was first used to light streetlamps in London, England. 1821 Natural gas was piped through hollow logs to Fredonia, New York. 1836 Coal gas was first used in streetlamps in Montreal, Que´ bec. 1841 Coal gas was first used in streetlamps in Toronto, Ontario. 1842 Geological Survey of Canada was established to explore for coal and other minerals. 1854 Abraham Gesner of Halifax, Nova Scotia, opened a plant in New York to convert coal into kerosene, a new synthetic lamp oil (which replaced whale oil), using his patented process of fractional distillation. 1855 American chemist, Benjamin Silliman, applied fractional distillation to Pennsylvania rock oil (crude oil) and discovered it produces high-quality lamp oil (kerosene). 1859 Natural gas was discovered in New Brunswick. 1860s Entrepreneurs established small, primitive oil refineries in Ontario, eastern Europe, and the U.S. 1866 James Miller Williams of Hamilton, Ontario, created the world’s first vertically integrated oil company, combining all aspects of the business from exploration to retail sales into one company. 1866 Natural gas was discovered in south-western Ontario. 1870s Chemical engineer, Herman Frasch, invented a process to extract sulphur compounds from oil using copper oxide powder; until then, the foul smell of sulphur had prevented oil from being widely used as fuel. 1874 Development of the first coal powered electricity generators near present-day Lethbridge, Alberta. 1875 Geological Survey of Canada investigated Athabasca oil sands. 1880 Sixteen producing and refining companies in Ontario merged to form the Imperial Oil Company. 1883 Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) crew drilling for water accidentally discovered natural gas 55 km northwest of Medicine Hat, Alberta. The name of the site at the time was Langevin Siding. By 1910 it was called Carlstadt, and after World War I, the name was changed again to Alderson. 1883 Canada’s first single phase AC generators were commissioned in Calgary, Alberta, by the Bow River Lumber Company and in Ottawa, Ontario, at Chaudiere Electric. Appendix B: Timeline of the Energy Industry in Alberta 405 1884 A second well was drilled just a few metres from the Langevin Siding site, which produced enough gas to light and heat several buildings. 1886 The Geological Survey of Canada collected natural gas information and presented a paper, entitled On Certain Borings in Manitoba and the Northwest Territory, to the Royal Society of Canada. Of course, there was no reference to Alberta, since Alberta did not become a province until 1905. 1887 The No. 1 Mine began coal production in Canmore, Alberta. Mining at Canmore continued until 1979. 1889 Drilling for natural gas began in south-western Ontario. 1890 Natural gas well was drilled at Niagara Falls, Ontario, and began exporting gas to Buffalo, New York. 1890s Several more natural gas wells were drilled in the Medicine Hat area, producing gas for homes and factories. 1891 The Canadian Electrical Association was formed to represent the industry. 1891 Edmonton Electric Lighting and Power Company was founded and received approval to build a coal-fired generating plant on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. (Source: Edmonton Power Historical Foundation) 1893 Parliament passed bill authorising funds for Geological Survey of Canada to investigate Athabasca oil sands as a source of petroleum. 1893 The first hydro-generator in Alberta was built on the Bow River. (Source: Centre for Energy) 1894 Drilling began at Athabasca oil sands; crews struck a reservoir of natural gas which blows wild for 21 years. 1895 Natural gas from Ontario was piped to Windsor, Ontario, and across the river to Detroit, Michigan. 1898 Imperial Oil’s refinery operations consolidated at Sarnia, Ontario. 1900s Year Event 1901 As known natural gas supplies dwindled, Ontario government banned exports to U.S. 1901 Medicine Hat (300 km southeast of Calgary) developed its own gas utility. 406 APPENDIX B: TIMELINE OF THE ENERGY INDUSTRY IN ALBERTA 1902 Edmonton Electric Lighting and Power Company was purchased by Edmonton, becoming the first municipally owned electric utility in Canada. (Source: Edmonton Power Historical Foundation) 1905 Alberta was proclaimed a province on 1 September 1905. The province was named after Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. The inauguration ceremony featured an address by Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier. Approximately 12,000 Albertans were in attendance to witness the ceremony. 1908À1909 ‘Old Glory’ was the name of the first major discovery. Development of the Bow Island gas field led to the first pipelines delivering natural gas to Alberta communities. 1909 Calgary Power was formed. Later renamed TransAlta, the company developed into Canada’s largest investor-owned utility. 1910s Year Event 1911 Following British decision to convert Royal Navy ships from coal to bunker oil, the Canadian government urged industry to find and develop domestic oil supplies. 1911 Martin Nordegg opened the largest mine in Alberta and created a model town that bears his name to this day. In 1923, Nordegg produced the largest amount of coal of all the mines in Alberta. 1911 Calgary Power built the first large-scale hydro plant in Alberta, the run-of-river Horseshoe Falls hydro plant. (Source: TransAlta) 1912 270-km pipeline began carrying natural gas from Bow Island, Alberta, to Calgary to replace coal gas as a heating, lighting and cooking fuel. The 16-inch (40 cm) pipeline was complete in just 86 days. 1914À1918 First World War established oil as a key strategic commodity. 1914 May 14 was a victorious day for Arthur W. Dingman as he and his associates savoured the fruits of their risk-taking with a natural gas discovery at Turner Valley, Alberta, on the edge of Kananaskis Country. 1915 Sydney Ells demonstrated the first commercial use of oil sands. In 1915, he shipped several tonnes of Athabasca oil sands by water, sleigh and rail to Edmonton for a road-paving experiment. 1915 The Public Utilities Board (PUB) became Alberta’s first regulatory agency with the primary responsibility of regulating utility rates and service. At this time in Alberta’s history, since utility service was limited, the PUB had extended jurisdiction over a broad range of other matters, including the cancellation of subdivision plans, the approval of utility franchise agreements, the regulation of the sale of shares and Appendix B: Timeline of the Energy Industry in Alberta 407 securities within the province, the approval of tariffs for provincial railways and the approval of highway crossings by railway branch lines. Alberta Government Telephones (AGT), which was Alberta’s only telecommunications company at the time, also applied to the PUB for its rates. 1917 The Soldier Settlement Board (SSB) came into being with the mandate to provide land for returning war veterans. The veteran would acquire title to the surface, but the minerals were reserved in the SSB name and administered by the Government of Canada. 1920s Year Event 1920 Oil was discovered at Norman Wells, Northwest Territories. 1923 Edmonton switched to natural gas for heating, lighting and cooking following completion of 130-km pipeline from Viking, Alberta. 1924 The discovery of a decade earlier led the way to a deeper-zone find just a few kilometres away. Royalite No. 4 put Turner Valley on the oil and gas map. 1926 Dr. Karl Clark, chemist and oil sands researcher, perfected a hot water separation process while working for the Research Council of Alberta and the University of Alberta. It became the basis of today’s thermal extraction process. 1927 R. C. Fitzsimmons formed the International Bitumen Company and built a small-scale pilot plant near Bitumount, Alberta, 80 km north of Fort McMurray.
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